


Conscience

by normalpanchan



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Temporary Amnesia, akira is a woman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23891764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/normalpanchan/pseuds/normalpanchan
Summary: "Where am I? How did I get here?" she was panicking hard, frantically looking at her surroundings. She then gazed at Ryuji. "Who are you?"
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

This was so nerve-wracking.

Yesterday, Ryuji received a call from the nearby hospital, saying his wife got into a work-related accident and has a head injury. He rushed in as soon as he could into the place, panicking. Good news was that Akira was stable, but who knows when she'll regain consciousness.

Their son, Goro, also arrived in panic, with Morgana in tow. Both men and the cat stayed at Akira's side until it got late. Ryuji then told the both of them to go home for the night. They protested against his advice but ultimately, they gave.

And now today, he's at her bedside, waiting for the moment she'll awake. Ryuji was texting their close friends and Goro about Akira's status.

_Still nothing._

He put his phone away and sighed, looking at her. Hearing the ambiance of the hospital equipment surrounding his wife kept him on edge, like he would expect a flatline at any time. It feels like every second to him is life or death.

And then, he heard something that made his heart skip a beat: A murmur. From Akira.

And then saw her slowly opening her eyes; His wife's awake.

Ryuji became so ecstatic, he started crying. He quickly hugged her as soon as she stood up from her bed, but not before calling the nurse via button. "Dude, I-I was so w-worried! Thank G-god you're okay!" He was a sobbing mess.

"Let go of me!" Akira screamed.

Ryuji stopped and reacted accordingly. Did he hug her too tight? "S-sorry."

"Where am I? How did I get here?" she was panicking hard, frantically looking at her surroundings. She then gazed at Ryuji.

"Who are you?"

\----***----

_Akira looked up at the ceiling while in her bed._

_Today was productive, but bittersweet. She briefly hung out with basically everyone she met over the course of her stay in Tokyo to say goodbye, as she was leaving the next day. She was going to miss everyone, especially her boyfriend, Ryuji. She wondered if a long-distance relationship would work for them._

_From the moonlight, she can see the glow-in-the-dark stickers she placed and, on the corner of her eye, her packed items. She really was going to miss this place; Although the accommodation wasn't very ideal, she made it work. She could also briefly see Morgana at the bottom corner of her bed, sleeping away. And luckily, he was coming with._

_With everything that happened in the past year: meeting new people, discovering the sights and sounds of Tokyo, and especially, starting the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Akira was glad she went here, although the reason why she was here in the first place was infuriating, to say the least._

_Her eyes were starting to get heavy. She turned over and started to drift into sleep, as for tomorrow, she'll leave._

~~~

Akira woke up, feeling hazy with a slight sudden headache. From her field of vision, everything was white, except for something that looks like a person. She stood up to get herself awake and suddenly, that person, now clearly a man, hugged her. While he was sobbing, she quickly looked at her surroundings. She started to panic at her situation and screamed at the unknown man to get off her.

She quickly looked around again and noticed white nearly everywhere; Was she at a hospital of some sorts? There were machines next to her and panicked even more. "Where am I? How did I get here?" Akira then looked at the man. "Who are you?"

The man was stunned. "It's m-me, Akira," How did he know her name? "Ryuji."

Ryuji? Like her boyfriend, Ryuji? No way, she thought. He had dyed blonde hair and was young, while this unknown man had black hair and looked old enough to be her father. "No you're not, you're too old. H-how do you know me?"

He, again, was stunned. "Dude, I…" Then, what looks like a nurse arrived into the room.

\----------

His wife had a form of amnesia.

When the nurse did a simple checkup on Akira, the questions they asked, her answers were all off course. When she was addressed as Mrs. Sakamoto, she was puzzled. When asked her age, she said she's seventeen. For the date, said March 19th, 20XX. And for the last memory she can recall, she said it was sleeping in her room in Leblanc.

The nurse broke it to Akira that it's 20ZZ, she's actually in her late thirties, and was in a work-related accident that caused her amnesia. She can't remember or recall the past twenty years. The revelation of this put Akira into shock.

When Ryuji asked if it was permanent, the nurse didn't know and suggested maybe jogging her memory. They shortly left the room to report it to the main doctor. He stared at Akira, looking devastated like her. Losing 20 years of their love, progress, and moments…

Ryuji inched himself closer to Akira's bedside and suddenly, his wife spoke up.

"How much did I miss?"

Her voice trembled when she asked. He drew his left hand onto her right hand and said, somberly, "...We got married."

Akira just noticed the wedding ring on his hand and looked at her left hand and sure enough, she had a matching ring. "...It was the best day ever, right?"

"It was the biggest, Dude," He was reminiscing. "The gown you wore was amazing, the reception was too, and even made Morgana wear a cat tuxedo and he hated it." he snickered.

"Morgana! Is he still--"

He turned to face Akira. "Around, yea. He's at home, likely waitin' for Goro to pick him up--"

"Wait, Akechi?"

Ryuji then got slightly nervous. "Uhhh...no. Y'see…" He put his hand behind his head. "Goro's the name of our son. We had a kid together."

Akira grabbed onto Ryuji's left pinky with her thumb, fidgeting. "A kid…Goro..."

\----***----

Hearing that her son's name was Goro, something suddenly flashed into her mind, and then it quickly vanished. Was it a memory resurfacing?

Akira then suddenly asked her now-husband more about their son and everything else that happened. He was surprised, but it then hit him why and went into much detail as he could.

\---

"He then did--"

Ryuji was interrupted by the sound of the room door opening. Who appeared behind it was a tall boy wearing a dark green gakuran.

"Goro!" Ryuji greeted. "...Why didn't ya call?"

"Dad, I did, like, three times. Did you put your phone on silent again?"

"No!" He then quickly looked at his phone and saw a lot of messages and missed calls, then noticed on the notification bar, it had the 'phone silent' icon. "...Oh...yea, oops."

Goro shook his head. "Dad…" He then took notice of Akira. "Mom!" He rushed to her. "Mom! You're up!"

She noticed his school bag was shaking. "Hey, is it safe?" it mumbled.

"Oh right!" Goro zipped open his bag to reveal Morgana, peeping out. It looked like Morgana hadn't changed at all, though she swore he looks a bit chubbier…

"Akira!" the cat meowed. "So glad you're okay!"

"Morgana!" she greeted back. But then dart her eyes back to Goro. She saw the photos Ryuji showed her of their son and yet, it's so surreal to see him face-to-face. And being addressed as Mom by someone she was supposed to know by heart, but can't remember…

"Uh, Mom? What's with the staring?" Her son's question snapped her out.

"Oh, right." Ryuji chimed in, shifting to a somber tone. "Both of ya, Akira...well...she has amnesia and she--"

"Then how did she know my name?" Morgana hissed.

"Lemme finish, ya damn cat!" he exclaimed, then calmed down. "She doesn't remember the past 20 years. Last thing she remembered was her time in Tokyo back in 20XX. She knows us, Morgana," He looked at Goro, who was standing in silence. "But doesn't know you, Goro."

Morgana eyed at Akira, who was looking away, then looked up at Goro, looking distraught. "Is it permanent?"

"We don't even know, champ. I'm tryin' to see if jogging her memory helps."

The room was now filled with silence.

"...Can I talk to Goro alone?"

The guys were surprised at Akira's request. "Why him?" the cat protested. "We're all here! We could help you remem--"

Ryuji intervened. "Sure, dude." He turned back to their son. "Goro, gimme the bag."

Their son handed it over with Morgana shuffling inside. "Hey!"

"How the hell can ya handle this, Goro?" It looked like Ryuji could hold the bag with no difficulty, but yet complained about it. He turned to the cat. "You need to lose even more weight."

"Shut it!"

Both left the room bickering to one another. And now it was just Akira and Goro.

"Ryuji told me a lot about you," she began. "I can't believe that--" She stopped and noticed Goro holding his tears in. It must be devastating from his point of view that she can't recognize him. "Goro--"

"Shut up!" The young man burst out crying. "T-this is total bullshit!" He was hiccuping between words.

Briefly, a memory appeared in her head of being told something similar and put her hand against her temple in pain. Goro took notice.

"Mom?"

He went closer to her side as the pain was subsiding. "Sorry…" she said. "Just...deja vu, I think."

Goro wiped off his tears. "S-sorry as well…" He still looked pretty upset.

Even after what Ryuji told her what happened over the years, she still was amazed that they had a son. Looking at him and seeing bits of themselves, though looking more like Ryuji, was surreal. "...Goro." Her son looked up at her again. "From what Ryuji told me, we've raised you pretty well. You're kind, generous, started a band...and even a big fan of the Phantom Thieves!"

"Uh...yeah."

"So who's the most overprotective one in the family?"

"Huh?" Goro was surprised again.

"You know, with Ryuji telling me, we all loved you, but still wanna know who showers you the most!"

Goro sighed. "It's Dad."

She put her hands together. "I knew it. He always had a big heart and uses that to protect others, especially me." Akira smiled. "He's brash and a bit of a loudmouth, but he's--" She then blanked out.

"Mom?" Her son got worried once again.

She snapped back a few seconds later. "Oh! Sorry. When I said that, 'felt like I remembered something, but...forgot. Anyways..." She shifted the subject. "I'm guessing you already know why he's overprotective."

"Because I'm his only son." Goro snided. "But I wish he would stop. I'm in high school now and I don't need to be called Champ like I'm a little kid or him snooping on my problems."

Akira listened to him vent a bit. "It's not just because you're his only kid." She paused and turned solemn. "...Ryuji never had a father, I mean, a good father."

"Huh?" Goro piqued at her comment.

It looks like her future...present...whatever self or Ryuji never told him, which caught her by surprise. She then continued. "Well...his dad was...hurtful. He'd be drunk, yell, and hurt him and his mom. He one day left, which, good riddance, and that's all I know." She paused again. "My guess is that Ryuji's making up for it by being a good dad to you, a bit overbearing, but still."

Both fell silent.

"I'm...gonna go get Dad and Morgana." Goro stepped away from her bed and left for the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryuji was texting everyone about Akira's status and sharing concerns and Morgana hiding in the innards of the bag once again when Goro came out.

"That was quick." Ryuji noticed. "Did...something happened?"

Goro stood with one hand holding against his opposite's forearm. "Mom told me about you...and your dad." Ryuji just stopped in his tracks. "I...didn't know it was like that."

With seconds of awkward silence, he sighed, whether in irritation or relief, Goro wasn't sure. "...Yeah, it was." Ryuji _really_ didn't want his son to know about it; He wanted it to be buried in the past. "Why'd she tell ya that?"

"She just asked who was the most doting between you two." Goro was getting shaken at his father's demeanor. "A-and told me why you would be."

Morgana finally peeked out of the bag. "Ryuji…" Awkward silence fell between them once again.

"...How did she react? Did she recall anything?"

"She...blanked out for a sec when talking about you." Goro responded. "Dunno why."

Ryuji paused and sighed again. "...Goro, it's late now. How about you go home? And take the cat with you."

"What?" Morgana protested to him. "Goro brought me here for Akira and I don't even get to talk to her?"

To the high schooler, Morgana was hissing. "Dad, I think Mona's mad that he didn't get to meet with Mom. Can I at least stay until he's done?"

"...Fine." he said in defeat. "And I'll drive ya both back 'cause I need some FOOD; The food here sucks."

Goro cracked a smile and picked up Morgana in the bag.

\----***----

The evening was over before she knew it. Morgana talked with Akira about their pre-Goro days, when they all moved in together, got married, and an incident in that one summer years ago, in hope to jog her memory; Only thing that got her was that incident, but no results.

The guys left to go home and get something to eat, leaving Akira alone for the time being.

As she was lying on her bedside, feeling sleepy, she contemplated everything that happened today and the most surprising thing for her was that she had a son. To think that they got married and started a family. And for that to happen, her and Ryuji…

She turned beet red at the thought.

She casted aside that, and focused back on her son.

~~~

_"Goro was a surprise to us," Ryuji said, clasping his hands. "Like, he entered into our lives faster than we expected." He then solemnly looked down. "We even argued about his name. In hindsight, I was stupid about it. And all it took was a dream to realize that."_

_"A dream?" Akira felt that she remembered the argument, but can't actually recall it._

_"I dreamt that…" There was pain in his face. "I was like my old man and...hurt Goro just because of his name; I legit cried when I woke up." He paused. "Can't believe I can still remember it years later."_

_She was at a loss for words._

_"Oh, dude! Sorry!" Ryuji suddenly apologized, shifting his tone. "But it never came true though! Teenager bullshit aside, he's fine and happy! Lemme show you what he looks like." Ryuji pulled out his phone and searched for a recent photo of their son. "Ah, there he is! Look!"_

_It was a photo of a teenage boy, wearing a gakuran, sitting and playing a guitar. His hair was like her own: stylized as unkempt. And looking at his face, he looks a bit like Ryuji. She stared at the photo longer than she should have for every detail._

~~~

Meeting him face-to-face was another layer of shocking. Like Ryuji said, he's very polite, but knows how to stand on his own two feet. When he bursted out crying to her, it reminded her of something. Something familiar…

_"Goro, I can't, sorry…"  
"Shut up! This is total bullshit, Mom! Please, I wanna go!"_

Akira didn't even know what that event was, but that phrase echoed in her head. She desperately wanted to remember everything; She felt so out of place. But nothing was happening, and she started to cry. She silently kept crying until she fell asleep.

\----------

"Dad, do you think Mom will be back?"

Ryuji turned to look at his son, who was laying in bed already, with Morgana next to him. He sighed, "I don't even know. I _really_ want her to though."

Silence filled the air as usual. "Also," Goro continued, squeezing his pillow. "About...your dad…" Ryuji froze up. "...You know what? Nevermind."

He was confused. "Champ, tell me." he said sternly, steeling himself.

Goro quickly looked at Morgana at the corner of his eye and the cat looked really glum. Guess even he knows this will be a tough subject. "...Were you ever gonna tell me about him or keep it a secret?"

Ryuji sighed, looking uncomfortable about the subject. "I…" He gripped on his shirt sleeve. "The less you knew about him, the better, so yeah."

Goro stood silent, looking glum and felt like he regretted asking his father. "...Sorry, Dad, I-I didn't mean to bring it up; Just...wanted to know."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "To be fair, I knew it'd be brought up at some point, but didn't expect Akira gettin' amnesia to be that point." He felt at ease, losing his stiffness. He then walked up to the edge of his son's bed and put his hand on his shoulder. "But Goro, know this: He was a piece of shit and we'll never be like him."

The teen made a small smile. "Definitely won't." He didn't want to make his dad uncomfortable by asking about that, but he was curious. He may think his dad is overprotective and doting, but he didn't want to outright hurt him with a touchy subject; He'd rather want him to be challenged.

"I'm guessing you're going back?" Morgana broke the moment between the father and son.

"No duh!" Ryuji replied. "Can ya watch the place and make sure Goro goes to sleep?"

"Well, _no duh!_ " the cat mimicked in jest. He shifted his tone. "Let us know if anything happens to Akira, especially if her memory comes back."

"I know." He then turned to Goro. "Morgana's on watch duty again, so you know the drill."

"Yeah, Dad."

"'Night, Champ."

Ryuji left his son's room and went to grab his sweater at the table.

\--------

 _"Should've slept at home."_ thought an irritated Ryuji. He didn't know what time it was, but he could faintly see the rising sun's light. He forgot how uncomfortable sleeping on the hospital futon was.

When he arrived here a couple hours ago, Akira was already asleep. But upon closer inspection, he then noticed that she had a sad look on her face, like she cried. And Ryuji can guess why.

He couldn't immediately go back to sleep due these intrusive thoughts: What if Akira never gets back her memory? If not, can she handle this new life? Her job would be in peril due to needing the knowledge she lost; They'll have to cut back. He was getting anxious and scared about the possibility.

Ryuji attempted again to sleep, trying to clear his head of those thoughts. It worked, as his eyes were getting heavy.

\---------------

He woke up once more, and the first thing he noticed was Akira sitting up on her bed, eating something. He got up and stretched and she finally took notice.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" she greeted.

"...Whatcha eating?"

"Granola...something, I guess? I don't care; I'm _really_ hungry and anything would do."

It took him a second to recall and rushed to her bedside. "Dude, wait! You okay? Did your memory came back?"

Akira was surprised at her husband's sudden questions. "'Came back?' What are you talking about? I always had it."

"Huh?" He was getting confused. "Uhh, then what's the last thing you remembered?"

"I was...walking down the hall at work, carrying stuff for my next meeting." She pushed her fingers against her temple. "Then...I slipped on something, a spill? And my head hit…" Her head started to hurt.

"Dude?"

Her headache eased. "I'm fine, Ryuji. Just after that, I blacked out, and here we are." Akira finished eating her granola snack. "Did...something happen when I blacked out? You said I lost my memory?"

She doesn't remember yesterday at all. "Yeah." Ryuji then suddenly hugged her and shed a tear. "Welcome back."

Akira was getting all sorts of confused, but she let her husband have this moment.

...And it's gone. "A bit tight, Ryuji…!"

"Sorry!" He let go.

"So...what happened to me? Like, did I forget who I was?" His wife wondered.

"...Nooot exactly. Y'see…" Ryuji began telling her what had happened yesterday. He was glad that she was back, and speaking of, he needed to contact everyone about her return, especially Morgana and Goro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I purposefully left Akira's job vague because I have no idea what it is lol


End file.
